Tag: Lord Empey

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-07-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have been advised by the government of Ireland that it intends to represent the people of Scotland at meetings of the European Council.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government of Ireland has not advised Her Majesty’s Government that it intends to represent the people of Scotland at meetings of the European Council.

The United Kingdom remains a member of the European Union until it leaves and as such will continue to represent the whole of the UK in the European Council.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-10-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they support the proposed trade deal between the EU and Canada.

Lord Price

The Government has been clear in its support for the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). This approach is in line with our commitment to back the EU’s trade agenda and participate constructively in decision-making on trade while the UK remains a member of the EU.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-12-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any plans to reduce the number of local electoral offices in Northern Ireland.

Lord Dunlop

The Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland is currently considering a range of options for reforming his Office. This includes capitalising on new technology by introducing on-line registration.

The Chief Electoral Officer will have regard to the continued effective delivery of elections in Northern Ireland and ensuring that his Office remains on a sustainable financial footing. The Northern Ireland Office fully supports him in this approach. I understand that work on some options is at an early stage.

The Representation of the People Act 1983 makes provision for the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland to delegate returning officer functions to the clerk of a district council.

Detailed questions on headcount and budget are operational matters for the Chief Electoral Officer who is independent of Government. The Chief Electoral Officer publishes all such information in his annual report which is presented to Parliament and copies are made available in the Library of the House.

The headline budgets allocated to the Chief Electoral Office are:

Financial Year	Operational Funding	Capital Funding
2013/14	£5.452m *	£100k
2014/15	£2.336m	£56.2k
2015/16	£2.296m	£25k

* includes £3m for the 2013 canvass

The Northern Ireland Office has not agreed any budgets with the Chief Electoral Officer for future years pending receipt of the Department’s detailed Spending Review 2015 settlement letter from HM Treasury.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-04-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure the effective operation of the electoral office of Northern Ireland following the decision by the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance to ballot its members in the electoral office on strike action following the decision to close six electoral branch offices.

Lord Dunlop

The delivery of elections is an operational matter for the Chief Electoral Officer.

It is disappointing that the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance has decided to ballot its members in Area Electoral Offices for industrial action. While two Area Electoral Offices are due to close in October with staff relocating to other offices, no decision has been taken on others. This action is hard to justify in advance of final decisions on wider reform which will only be taken following consideration of responses to a consultation later in the year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-07-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what changes to government procurement rules they envisage as a result of the referendum on 23 June to leave the EU.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

Until we leave, the UK remains a full member of the EU, with all of the rights and obligations. T​here will be no immediate change to the way our goods can move or the way our services can be sold.

The Prime Minister has established a Department for Exiting the European Union for overseeing negotiations to leave the EU and establishing the future relationship between the UK and EU.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-10-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the UK’s decision to leave the EU, the proposed trade deal between the EU and Canada should be amended to take account of the consequent reduction in the population of the EU.

Lord Price

Until we complete our withdrawal negotiations, the UK remains a full member of the EU, with all the rights and responsibilities of membership. The UK Government has been clear in its support for the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). This approach is in line with our commitment to back the EU’s trade agenda and participate constructively in decision-making on trade while the UK remains a member of the EU.

The negotiations between the European Commission and Canada on CETA were concluded in August 2014. A legal revision of the text making further amendments was completed in February 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-12-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to require district councils in Northern Ireland to conduct election counts other than those for district council elections.

Lord Dunlop

The Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland is currently considering a range of options for reforming his Office. This includes capitalising on new technology by introducing on-line registration.

The Chief Electoral Officer will have regard to the continued effective delivery of elections in Northern Ireland and ensuring that his Office remains on a sustainable financial footing. The Northern Ireland Office fully supports him in this approach. I understand that work on some options is at an early stage.

The Representation of the People Act 1983 makes provision for the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland to delegate returning officer functions to the clerk of a district council.

Detailed questions on headcount and budget are operational matters for the Chief Electoral Officer who is independent of Government. The Chief Electoral Officer publishes all such information in his annual report which is presented to Parliament and copies are made available in the Library of the House.

The headline budgets allocated to the Chief Electoral Office are:

Financial Year	Operational Funding	Capital Funding
2013/14	£5.452m *	£100k
2014/15	£2.336m	£56.2k
2015/16	£2.296m	£25k

* includes £3m for the 2013 canvass

The Northern Ireland Office has not agreed any budgets with the Chief Electoral Officer for future years pending receipt of the Department’s detailed Spending Review 2015 settlement letter from HM Treasury.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-04-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications for the Falkland Islands of the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf finding that they are in Argentinian territorial waters.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the member for East Devon (Mr Swire), on 13 April 2016 (PQ 33811).

"The UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) has no jurisdiction to consider areas subject to competing claims and therefore has no locus to make recommendations in relation to the Falkland Islands. The UN itself has acknowledged that the CLCS could not consider those parts of the original Argentine submission of 2009 that were subject to dispute. This would include the Falkland Islands."

Furthermore, the UK has no doubt about its sovereignty over the Falklands and surrounding maritime areas, nor about the Falkland Islanders’ right to decide their own future. We will continue to make that clear to Argentina and other countries in the region.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-07-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what tariff levels UK exports of goods and services would be subject to if the UK traded under WTO regulations with the remaining 27 countries of the EU, listed by category.

Lord Price

If the UK were to leave the EU without having negotiated a preferential trade deal, then under WTO rules neither the UK nor the EU could offer each other better market access than that offered to all other WTO members.

The bound levels of access for goods and services into the EU under WTO rules are set out in the EU’s schedules of commitments and are publicly available on the WTO website.

The bound levels of access for goods and services from the EU into the UK under WTO rules would be an issue for the government to consider in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-10-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the fall in the value of sterling on the UK’s indebtedness.

Lord Young of Cookham

All public debt issued by the UK government is denominated in pounds sterling. Therefore, any changes in the value of the currency do not affect the UK government’s indebtedness.